D7500 underexposed pictures on automatic settings (On every possible lens)

L

LRAT

New member
Hi Fred and other contributors,

Thanks to all your help I've got it now under control. I have been applying all your suggestions, tips and ideas and it has transformed my world.
Here's what I would like to add in a condensed form to assist people with similar problems:

There are four YouTube clips that every novice photographer should watch. These are:

Nikon D7500 User's guide by Jared Polin https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi1copk_Sns
6 Simple Camera Hacks To Get You Off AUTO Mode Forever https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqlZoXrutYI
How to open Nikon D850 .nef files in Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Hr0rUwn1w
Learn Lightroom 6 CC - Episode 1 Quickstart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bECi0ZQAB34

Since I started this thread a complete new world has opened for me and I want to thank you all.
The D7500 is different to the D90 (As suggested by one of you) and seems to apply different metering to the pictures. In Auto-mode one hasn't got control about this. However, it seems that my Nikon D7500 seems to function the best when the metering is set at +0.3 to +0.7. By doing this the pictures turn out great!

I now shoot most of my pictures in Aperture mode, shoot in RAW and process them in Lightroom.

The problem to novice photographers that the whole process from moving to Auto settings to Manual settings is very daunting and one expect a steep learning curve. Thanks to your help and the videos as listed as above I understood and kind of mastered the whole concept in a matter of days. Of course there's so much more to learn but at least I now master the foundations of photography.

The manual included with the camera is kind of hopeless: Too much information but no direction.
The learning curve to get a grip on Lightroom is not as bad as expected. It's just going through logical steps and it's non-destructive to the originals.
I now shoot in RAW + JPEG Fine settings.

I am very happy to list my problem on this forum as it drove me nuts.
Thank you all very much for your excellent help and support.
Cheers,

Luke
Melbourne, Australia
 
B

Bikerbrent

Senior Member
Good news! Glad to hear you have resolved your issues with the D7500. Also, very glad you have elected to move away from auto everything. You were like a boxer with one hand tied behind their back in this mode. Do experiment with the other modes as S, M and P models also have their uses.
 
L

LRAT

New member
Thanks BikerBrent,
Yes, I've take on your advice and have been experimenting with the other priorities.
Aperture works the best for landscapes and portraits. Shutter speed mode is best for fast action events or water features, Manual at night, etc.
I'm over simplifying things here but I've seen the light (No pun intended).
Thanks mate for your help!
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
LRAT, I'm glad to hear things are falling into place for you! :encouragement:

Learning how to use a camera is something like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. First you find all the straight edges and put the outside of the puzzle together (starting out in Auto when using a camera which is the easy part). Once the outside edges of a puzzle is done, you have to change how you look at the pieces. And that makes things slow down a little (like learning to use Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, and/or Manual Mode). Once the pieces start falling into place with fewer and fewer puzzle pieces remaining, it's like picking up speed with your knowledge.

Kudos to working through the initial learning curve rather quickly! :cool:
 
L

LRAT

New member
That's a really good analogy Hark!
It's like with everything else in life: Sometimes you wonder what all the fuss is about. But the biggest problem is the procrastination. It seems so daunting at the beginning and one hopes that the auto-settings will cover all your needs.
 
Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
LRAT said:
Luke
Melbourne, Australia
Click to expand...
Hi Luke,

I am glad that you have got it sorted and are getting off the Auto mode. It is a lot to learn but it is very enjoyable knowing that the image you create is your own and post processing is basically like adding the icing on the cake.
 
Dawg Pics

Dawg Pics

Senior Member
LRAT said:
Hi Fred and other contributors,

Thanks to all your help I've got it now under control. I have been applying all your suggestions, tips and ideas and it has transformed my world.
Here's what I would like to add in a condensed form to assist people with similar problems:
Click to expand...

This forum has the best, helpful members. They respect novice photographers and are generous with their expertise. Please stick around.
I love the images from Australia.
 
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L

LRAT

New member
Thanks Dawg Pics.
I was overwhelmed with helpful suggestions indeed. I will definitely stick around on the forum.
The images are nothing special though, just taken right out of the backyard.
Cheers,

Luke
 
R

Rick M

Senior Member
Just curious, What metering mode was your camera in for the set of Auto mode shots you posted? Even in auto it shouldn't have blown out the sky like that.
 
L

LRAT

New member
It was set at spot metering mode.
I figured out that the there can be quite a fair bit of difference in cameras whilst still meeting the manufacturing quality standard requirements.
This was the biggest issue I had to deal with. My camera was and still is in spec but must be bordering on the far end of the spectrum.
I've got no problem with that now that I know it as I can apply compensation.
However, the difference in metering between my D90 and D7500 are day and night different (No pun intended). This was extremely frustrating up to the point where I was going to get rid of the unit. Luckily you guys helped me out and I'm satisfied now.
 
R

Rick M

Senior Member
LRAT said:
It was set at spot metering mode.
I figured out that the there can be quite a fair bit of difference in cameras whilst still meeting the manufacturing quality standard requirements.
This was the biggest issue I had to deal with. My camera was and still is in spec but must be bordering on the far end of the spectrum.
I've got no problem with that now that I know it as I can apply compensation.
However, the difference in metering between my D90 and D7500 are day and night different (No pun intended). This was extremely frustrating up to the point where I was going to get rid of the unit. Luckily you guys helped me out and I'm satisfied now.
Click to expand...

Spot metering was the issue. Matrix would have balanced better, sky would not have been blown out. In looking at the shutter speeds, the camera was exposing for a dark area which in turn blew out the sky. Normally with that much light the shutter speed would have been much faster.
 
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R

Rick M

Senior Member
LRAT said:
It was set at spot metering mode.
I figured out that the there can be quite a fair bit of difference in cameras whilst still meeting the manufacturing quality standard requirements.
This was the biggest issue I had to deal with. My camera was and still is in spec but must be bordering on the far end of the spectrum.
I've got no problem with that now that I know it as I can apply compensation.
However, the difference in metering between my D90 and D7500 are day and night different (No pun intended). This was extremely frustrating up to the point where I was going to get rid of the unit. Luckily you guys helped me out and I'm satisfied now.
Click to expand...

Your camera is fine, it actually did what it was supposed to in accordance with the spot metering setting. Meter properly first, make adjustments after viewing or in post processing. Start off with Maxtrix until you get a feel for the other exposure settings.
 
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